For most small businesses in Milpitas, San Jose, Fremont, and Santa Clara, the answer is not a CPA — and the law backs that up. Here’s the honest breakdown.
These three titles get used interchangeably, but they describe different scopes of work — and in California, different legal authorizations.
A bookkeeper records day-to-day financial transactions, reconciles bank and credit card accounts, categorizes income and expenses, and keeps your books organized and current. Bookkeeping is the foundation — without it, accurate tax returns and financial reporting are not possible.
A bookkeeper does not prepare tax returns, provide tax advice, or represent you before the IRS. Bookkeeping requires no state license in California.
An accountant does everything a bookkeeper does — and goes further. A qualified accountant prepares business and personal tax returns, provides tax planning advice, handles payroll, manages sales tax, communicates with the IRS and California FTB, and maintains your books at whatever level of detail your business requires.
Registered tax preparers with a valid PTIN are authorized by the IRS to prepare and file all federal and state tax returns. This is the full-service option for the vast majority of small and medium businesses.
A CPA holds a state license issued after passing the Uniform CPA Exam and meeting California's education and experience requirements. CPAs can perform everything an accountant can — but they are also the only professionals legally authorized to perform attest services in California: audits, reviews, and compilations of financial statements.
That distinction matters because attest services are required by banks for large loans, by institutional investors, by SEC-registered companies, and by certain government contracts. For most small businesses, none of those triggers ever apply.
California law restricts attest services — the formal examination or assurance of financial statements — to licensed CPAs. Here is what each service is and when it is actually required.
An independent audit is the highest level of financial statement assurance. The CPA examines your records, tests transactions, and issues a formal opinion that your financials are free from material misstatement.
Typically required by: Public companies (SEC mandate), institutional investors and PE firms with large ownership stakes, banks for certain commercial loans, federal government contractors subject to Single Audit requirements.
A review provides limited assurance — the CPA performs analytical procedures and inquiries but does not examine underlying transactions in depth. Less rigorous than an audit, more formal than a compilation.
Typically required by: Some banks for commercial loans in the $350K–$1M range, private equity investors who want assurance short of a full audit, some franchise agreements and business acquisition due diligence.
A CPA assembles financial statements from information you provide and issues a report — but provides no assurance on accuracy. The lowest level of attest service.
Typically required by: Some lenders, bonding companies, or investors who want CPA-prepared statements. In California, compilations with a CPA report require a CPA or PA license.
B&H does not perform attest services. By law, audits, reviews, and compilations require a CPA license — we do not hold one, and we do not perform that work. If your situation ever requires audited or reviewed financial statements, we will tell you directly and refer you to a qualified CPA firm. Most small businesses never reach that threshold — but if you do, you will know.
The list of services that do not legally require a CPA license covers nearly everything a typical small or medium business needs day-to-day.
This is not speculation — it is how the market for accounting services works, and small business owners deserve to understand it.
The services that legally require a CPA — audits, reviews, financial statement attestation — are almost exclusively needed by medium and large businesses: companies with institutional investors, large commercial loans, public company requirements, or government contract obligations. Those engagements are high-value, complex, and generate significantly more revenue per client than monthly bookkeeping or a small business tax return.
CPA firms — especially larger regional and national practices — carry significant overhead: licensing fees, continuing education requirements, mandatory peer review programs for attest services, and professional liability insurance calibrated to audit exposure. A small business spending $500–$800 per month on bookkeeping and tax prep is a relatively low-margin engagement at CPA hourly rates of $150–$400+. A mid-size company needing an annual audit is not.
The result is predictable: small businesses often get less attention from CPA firms — slower response times, work handed to junior staff, or simply a sense that their account isn't a priority. This isn't a failure of individual CPAs. It is a structural consequence of a business model built around the work that requires CPA certification.
Small businesses are not a CPA firm's most attractive customer segment. They are ours.
B&H Accounting & Tax Services is built specifically for small and medium businesses in Milpitas, San Jose, Fremont, and Santa Clara. Not as a market segment we service — as the clients we exist to serve.
When you call B&H, you talk to Bill or Hannah — the people actually doing your accounting and tax work. Not a junior associate, not a call center, not a ticketing system. We keep your books current, file your returns on time, process payroll, handle your sales tax, and stay available when questions come up during the year.
We charge a flat monthly rate that covers the services you need — no hourly billing, no invoices for a quick phone call, no year-end surprises. We are transparent about our scope: we will handle everything that does not require a CPA license, and we will tell you honestly and immediately if your situation ever requires a referral to one.
Most of our clients never need that referral. If you run a small or medium business in Silicon Valley — a restaurant, a retail shop, a tech startup, a construction contractor, a professional services firm, a rental property portfolio — you almost certainly need a great accountant. You probably don’t need a CPA.
Call 408-256-0339 for a free consultation. We’ll tell you within the same conversation what you need and what it costs.
No. Tax preparation is not an attest service. Any IRS-registered tax preparer with a valid PTIN can legally prepare and file federal and California business tax returns — including 1120, 1065, 1120-S, and Schedule C. B&H prepares business and personal tax returns for all entity types.
Only attest services: independent audits, reviews, and compilations of financial statements. These are required by banks for certain large loans, institutional investors, SEC-registered public companies, and specific government contracts. The vast majority of small businesses never need them. If you do, we will tell you and refer you to a qualified CPA.
A CPA (Certified Public Accountant) is licensed by the state and is the only professional authorized to perform attest services — audits, reviews, compilations. An Enrolled Agent (EA) is licensed by the IRS and has the same rights as a CPA to represent clients before the IRS in all matters, including audits, collections, and appeals. For tax preparation and IRS representation, the credentials are equivalent; only a CPA can produce audited or reviewed financial statements.
Because audits, reviews, and financial statement attestation — the services that legally require a CPA — are almost exclusively needed by medium and large businesses. Those engagements generate the highest revenue per client for a CPA firm. Small business bookkeeping and tax prep is lower-margin at CPA hourly rates, so larger practices naturally gravitate toward bigger clients. That market dynamic is exactly why B&H exists.
No. B&H is not a licensed CPA firm. By law, audits, reviews, and compilations require a CPA license — we do not perform those services. If you need audited or reviewed financials, we will tell you directly and refer you to a qualified CPA firm. Most small businesses never need them — but if you do, you will know.
The most common triggers: (1) applying for an SBA loan or bank loan over roughly $750K that requires reviewed or audited financials; (2) raising institutional venture capital where investors require audited statements; (3) winning a government contract that mandates compliance with specific audit standards; (4) going public. For most South Bay small businesses with revenue under $5M and no institutional investors, none of these apply.
B&H is based in Milpitas and serves small and medium businesses throughout Silicon Valley. Same flat-rate service, same direct access to Bill and Hannah, regardless of which city you’re in.
Bookkeeping, tax, payroll & sales tax for Milpitas businesses.
Full-service accounting for San Jose small businesses and individuals.
Local accounting, bookkeeping & tax services for Fremont businesses.
Bookkeeping, payroll & tax preparation for Santa Clara businesses.
We will tell you within the same conversation what your business actually needs, what it costs, and whether a CPA referral makes sense for your situation. No sales pitch, no hourly clock running. Just a straight answer.
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